Elusive Summit in Sight, Don Mattingly Is Not Afraid to Fall

When things go wrong for the Dodgers, plenty of people give the blame to Don Mattingly.Credit
Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — The only shadow on Dodger Stadium on a recent picturesque 80-degree morning was the one that had followed Don Mattingly through 14 years as one of the best players in baseball and an additional five as a major league manager. Stretching from first base in the Bronx to the dugout in Los Angeles is a shivery, dark truth: For all his diligence as a student of baseball and a Sherpa of high-priced talent, Mattingly has never graced a World Series.

Starting with a division series against the Mets, Mattingly has a chance to end two droughts — his own and the Dodgers’ streak of 26 seasons without a World Series appearance. With the countdown to Friday’s National League division series opener against the Mets well underway, Mattingly showed no signs of defensiveness or unease. If a hook is waiting for him should he fail again in his quest to reach what he describes as “the mountaintop,” he does not seem bothered.

“If you don’t savor parts of this journey, you’re a fool,” Mattingly said. “We’ve won three straight division titles. If you don’t understand how hard that is — that’s not the ultimate accomplishment, but it is an accomplishment.”

The brilliant sunshine notwithstanding, the change of seasons here is palpable. This is the time of year when the feedback directed at Mattingly grows ever colder. Eric Stephen, the editor of TrueBlueLA.com, described the vitriol directed at Mattingly by his readers as having “taken on a little bit of a life of its own.”

Stephen said: “The most common reaction, no matter the outcome of the game, is always ‘It’s Mattingly’s fault.’ If someone gives up a home run, it isn’t the pitcher’s fault; it’s ‘Mattingly’s an idiot.’ Even if it’s a positive result, they’ll say: ‘Why didn’t Mattingly do this or that? Fire Mattingly.’ ”

Photo

Mattingly as a Yankee player in 1987.Credit
Larry Morris/The New York Times

Stephen said he was 9 years old in 1985 when Mattingly won the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award in his fourth season with the Yankees. Stephen is aware of how fine a player Mattingly was, but he sometimes wonders if Mattingly’s critics do.

“It’s amazing how little people know about who he is or know their history,” Stephen said.

At 54, Mattingly pays no more attention to public chatter than to the hum of an air-conditioner. To him, it’s all white noise.

“This is the best time of the year; no question about that,” he said.

He added, “It’s kind of like your time to see who shines.”

Mattingly is not under contract beyond next season, which would be his sixth. The Dodgers this year have a major-league-high payroll inching toward $300 million. So perhaps it is not surprising, given Chavez Ravine’s proximity to Hollywood, that some wonder if Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ first-year president of baseball operations, might abandon his support of Mattingly if this expensive project does not reap immediate dividends.

Mattingly rejected the idea that time could be running out in his pursuit of a league pennant.

“It’s a lot different as a manager or a coach than it is as a player,” he said. “As a player, the clock’s always ticking. You’re getting older; your skills sometimes erode to the point where you can’t compete at this level. As a coach or a manager, it’s almost the opposite way, where you get a little more life experience; you’re probably actually getting better every time — in your relationships, conversations. You’ve been through more.”

Mattingly’s challenges this season included an inconsistent bullpen and a spate of injuries to starters that forced him to move players around like pieces on a checkerboard. Yasiel Puig, the 24-year-old outfielder who finished second in rookie of the year voting in 2013, was limited to 79 games because of a hamstring injury.

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Mattingly, with Clayton Kershaw after clinching the N.L. West title, is taking time to savor the journey and enjoying the Dodgers' accomplishments.Credit
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

“He’s handled some of the strategic challenges of our roster very well,” Dodgers General Manager Farhan Zaidi said of Mattingly, “and I expect that to continue in the postseason.”

Zaidi added, “We all have faith that he’s going to push the right buttons and the game is going to be answered on the field.”

In 2014, Matt Williams pushed the right buttons in Washington. After leading the Nationals to 96 victories, he was named the N.L. manager of the year. On Monday he was fired after the Nationals finished seven games behind the Mets at 83-79. It was more proof, as if Mattingly needed any, that major league managers occupied shaky ground.

“I know their club was a lot like our club over the past few years from the standpoint of big personalities, a lot of guys making big money, a young star who grabs a lot of attention and how that works in your clubhouse,” he said. “A lot of factors there. You just know there’s a lot to handle.”

Puig can be a handful. During his first two seasons, his youthful indiscretions included a late arrival to a game, an occasional lack of hustle and two arrests for speeding. This year, Puig, a native of Cuba, made more of an effort to blend in, as demonstrated by his effort to conduct more interviews in English. But his hamstring got the last word.

“It’s harder to communicate with the language barrier, but the one thing I try to do is be fair to everyone,” Mattingly said. “I try to have some understanding of not only his culture but other guys’ cultures when they come to us, how they may look at things differently. So I think you have to try to take that into account. Honestly, I feel like I fail a lot. And still there’s miscommunication. You just try to do the best you can and be fair to 25 guys.”

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Mattingly and his wife, Lori, added to their blended family of five children with the birth of a son, Louis. Was becoming a father again at 53 good preparation for dealing with the mix of personalities on his team, or was dealing with the personalities on his team good preparation for becoming a father again at 53?

“I’ve been dealing with the personalities since before he came along,” Mattingly said with a laugh, adding that he welcomed the challenges and the rewards of having another child.

“You feel young, and you know you’ve got to stay healthy,” he said.” You realize in 15 years you’re going to be close to 70, and he’s going to be a teenager, and you want to take care of yourself. I work out, keep everything in balance”

It is never too early or too late for a refresher course in perspective. Mattingly is not too old to remember what it was like to be a young player trying to succeed, striving to show he belonged among the game’s elite. After he won his M.V.P. Award, Mattingly said, his focus shifted.

“Just kind of personally I had made it, knew I could play, and at that point it just becomes about winning,” he said.

Mattingly is trying to guide his veterans to that place. Because then, he said, the ultimate challenge becomes ascending the mountain, and doing whatever it takes collectively to reach the summit.

Correction: October 8, 2015
An earlier version of this article misstated Yasiel Puig’s age. He is 24, not 22. An earlier version also referred incorrectly to the 2013 National League Rookie of the Year Award. Puig finished second in the voting; he did not win the award.

A version of this article appears in print on October 9, 2015, on Page B10 of the New York edition with the headline: Elusive Summit in Sight, He’s Not Afraid to Fall. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe